Rail anchor



E. LAAS.

RAIL ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED 001.153.1915.

1 1 93,904. Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS SHEET I.

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E. LAAS.

RAIL ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 1a, 1915.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

EDWARD LAAS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 OTTO R. BARNETT, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

RAIL-ANCHOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 18, 1915. Serial No. 56,481.

To all whom z'tmay concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD LAAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Anchors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for preventing the longitudinal creep of railroad rails, devices for this purpose being ordinarily called rail anchors, anti-creepers or rail stays; and the principal object of the invention is to provide, in a device of this sort, novel and effective means for preventing the engagement of a rail anchor with the rail from becoming loosened by vibration or other disturbing influences. While the expedient which my invention provides might be utilized in connection with various different types of rail anchors or.anti-creeping devices, the invention has in view more particularly a rail anchor comprising a yoke which surrounds the base flange of the rail and a wedge which is driven in between the rail and said yoke. Considerable difficulty has been experienced in rail anchors of this general class because of the tendency of the wedge to become loosened due tothe vibration of the rail, difi'erences inexpansion and contraction between the rail and the anchor, and other disturbances to which these devices are subjected when in service. My invention provides either between the anchor and the rail or between the relatively movable parts of the anchor, for example between the wedge and the yoke, a spring member which has an edge adapted to bite into either the rail, or the anchor, as the case may be, so as to effectually prevent any loosening or retrograde movement likely to take place if the engagement was between smooth surfaces. Preferably the spring member is so disposed that it does not take the place of but supplements the usual frictional wedging engagement of the parts. In other words, the spring does not take the thrust of the wedge.

This application is inpart a continuation of my co-pending application Serial No. 28,662, filed May 17, 1915, in which division was required as to alternative species.

The object of my invention might be accomplished in different ways. I have shown in the accompanying drawings, and will describe, three embodiments of the invention which difi'er somewhat but operate on the same general principle.

Figure 1 is a plan View, partly in section, of a rail anchor of the wedge type in which the spring member is interposed between the yoke and the wedge and bites into the latter; the device being shown as applied to a rail. Fig. 2 is a view, in perspective, of the wedge. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the spring member. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional plan of a modification in which the spring member is interposed between the wedge and the rail. plan of another modification in which the wedge and spring member form a single integral structure. Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a view, in perspective, of the wedge member.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring first to Fig. 1, a rail is shown fragmentarily at A. B is one of the ties on which the rail is laid. The anchor consists of a yoke member O and a wedge D. The yoke member is formed at one end with a jaw E which has a tight fit upon one edge F of the base flange of the rail, and at the other end with a larger jaw G provided.

preferably with a flange or foot which bears against tie B.

In applying the anchor to the rail the wedge D is driven into jaw G. The wedge is preferably formed with a slot (Z for the edge I of the base flange of the rail. Preferably the jaw E stands away from the tie B Fig. 5 is a sectional so that any tendency of the rail to creep in a direction toward the tie B clamps the device on the rail and thereby prevents any creeping movement. This operation is conditional upon there being an intimate clamping engagement of the anchor on the rail base. If the wedge should become loosened or back away from the position into which it is driven when the anchor is applied to the rail the efficiency of the device will be diminished or possibly destroyed. To prevent any such retrograde movement of the wedge a spring member J is provided which is located in a recess 9 in the jaw G. The spring member is anchored in the jaw by any suitable means. For example, it may be formed at one end with a hook 7' adapted to extend around a web 9' within the jaw and a block or plug K employed for keeping the hook in engagement with the web.

in the full lines in Fig. 1, the extremity bearing against the edge face of the wedge.-

The spring is made quite stifl so that if the wedge starts to back away from the position to which it is driven the edge j will bite into the wedge and prevent any such movement.

In Fig. 4 the spring member J is arranged in the wedge D and bears against the edge of the base flange of the rail, the jaw into which the wedge is driven being designated G. The free end of the wedge member J points in the opposite direction from the member J. In each case the wedge member makes an acute angle with the element against which its biting edge bears. This allows the wedge to be driven into the jaw without difliculty while providing an effective means for preventing a retrograde movement.

In the modification shown in Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive, a single integral wedging element provided with an elastic portion having a biting edge is employed between the yoke and the rail base. This element, designated L, may be formed by bending a bar of steel into substantially Vshape (Fig. 7). One leg of the device is formed with a lip or flange Z which overlaps the base flange. This leg terminates in a sharp edge L. The device is driven into jaw G of the yoke C preferably until the legs of the V-shaped structure bear one against the other, although it may not be necessary to collapse the device as completely as this. The engagement of the sharp edge L with the base flange of the rail prevents the first member from becoming loosened.

The modification shown in Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive, and just described, is not specifically claimed herein; this construction being the subject matter of a divisional application Serial No. 80,658 filed by me on February 26, 1916.

I claim:

1. A rail anchor comprising coengaging members adapted to have a gripping engagement with a rail and to bear against a tie on which the rail is laid, in combination with means for maintaining the intimacy of engagement between saidv anchor and rail comprising an elastic device interposed between said members and provided with an edge adapted to bite into one of the same.

2. A rail anchor comprising coengaging members adapted to have a gripping engagement with a rail and to bear against a he on WlllCll the rail 1s lald, 1n combination with means for maintaining the intimacy of engagement between said anchor and rail comprising a bent spring interposed between said members and terminating in an edge adapted to bite into one of the same.

3. A rail anchor adapted to have a gripping engagement with a rail and to bear against a tie on which the rail is laid, in combination with means for maintaining the intimacy of engagement between said anchor and rail comprising a spring member secured at one end to the anchor with its free end provided with a biting edge.

4. A railanchor adapted to have a wedging engagement with a rail and to bear against a tie on which the rail is laid, in combination with means for maintaining intimacy of engagement between the anchor and rail comprising a spring member se-' and rail comprising a spring member secured to the anchor at one end and havlng a biting edge at the other and'disposed obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rail.

6. A rail anchor comprising a yoke adapt-. ed to surround the base flange of a rail and a wedge intervening between said yoke and rail, in combination with means for preventing retrograde movement of the wedge comprising an elastic member provided with a biting edge at one end thereof adapted to bite into said wedge.

7. A-rail anchor comprising a'yoke adapted to surround the base flange of a rail and a wedge intervening between said yoke and rail, in combination with means for .preventing retro-grade movement of the wedge-com prising an elastic member one end of which is secured to the anchor and theother provided with a biting edge. 7

8. A rail anchor comprising a yoke adapted to surround the base flange of a rail and a wedge intervening between said yoke and rail, incombination with means for preventing retrograde movement of the wedge comprising a sprlng member secured at one end one edge ofthe base flange of a rail, a jaw on the other end formed with a recess and an interior web, a wedge adapted to be driven into said jaw and against the rail, a spring member having a hook adapted to engage said web and formed at its opposite end with a biting edge to bear against said wedge, and means for maintaining the engagement between said hook and web.

11. In a rail anchor the combination of a yoke and wedge adapted together to engage the base flange of a rail, and a spring member interposed between the yoke and the wedge, which is adapted to maintain the same in proper relative positions.

12. A rail anchor comprising coengaging members adapted to have a wedging engagement upon each other and upon the rail, and a spring interposed between said members anchored at one end to one 01": said members and having a biting edge adapted to bite into the other member.

EDWARD LAAS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

